


Turning Tides

by contemplativepancakes



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angels are Dicks (Supernatural), Castiel (Supernatural)-centric, Castiel in bible stories, Heaven, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 02:14:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19736293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/contemplativepancakes/pseuds/contemplativepancakes
Summary: Castiel steadied Abraham as he climbed up the mountain where God had commanded him to sacrifice his son, Isaac.As God wills it, it shall be done.But Castiel wasn’t so sure.Castiel’s descent to rebellion against Heaven and everything he ever knew.





	Turning Tides

Castiel watched passively as the Tower of Babel collapsed, and God punished man for his impudence. 

As Moses floated down the river in his basket, looking so small and fragile, Castiel watched over him, steering his tiny vessel away from predators. Moses grew up into a courageous young man, and Castiel was proud of him. He couldn’t help but feel sorrow for all the innocent people who had to die, though, just because the pharaoh was a tyrant. 

Castiel looked down at David staring up at Goliath, and he felt something in his chest twist. This human was so brave, but he was going to be struck down. Castiel lent him his strength, for just a minute.

He steadied Abraham as he climbed up the mountain where God had commanded him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. 

As God wills it, it shall be done.

But Castiel wasn’t so sure. 

How was it right to make this man who had fervently prayed for a son do this? Castiel watched as Abraham’s knife quivered above Isaac’s heart. He could see tears forming in the old man’s eyes, and Castiel felt a wrench of sympathy for him. He was the patron of the downtrodden, after all, and Abraham was certainly at his lowest right now. “Abraham! Abraham!” he called.

Abraham looked up to the sky, whirling around wildly.

“Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son,” Castiel said, thinking quickly, “The Lord declares that because you have done this, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed because you have obeyed the Lord, your God.”

Castiel focused his power on Abraham and Isaac. He imbued enough of himself in them to give them good will that would last for several generations. They sacrificed a ram in their gratefulness, but Castiel was too busy struggling as he was dragged back to heaven to notice.

Another angel strapped him down to a chair, and Castiel screamed. There was a visceral sound of his form shredding in on itself, and when he regained consciousness, a piece of him was missing.

He was confined to heaven for an indeterminate amount of time. Castiel could feel the other angel’s eyes on him as he walked about each day. They all seemed to be in either fear or awe. The reason was niggling in the back of his mind, but he couldn’t quite seem to recall it.

When Castiel was finally allowed back down to earth, he was assigned to watch Esther, who was a lowly orphan when he first met her. He watched her each day, doing his best to shield her from harassment, but he feared she still suffered too much. 

He slowly realized why he was sent to Esther as her life hurtled past, leading her to become a queen. He stood by her as it was commanded for all Jews in the city to be killed. He felt her agony, her fear, as she waited for it to be revealed that she herself was Jewish. God couldn’t want his people to die, so Castiel appeared to her in a dream to help her make a plan. When she woke up, she went to her king and threw herself at his feet, crying that someone was trying to kill her. Her husband was suitably shocked and reviled. He demanded who, and Esther convinced him to not go forward with the massacre. He agreed, and both Castiel and Esther let out a sigh of relief.

“Castiel,” Naomi tsked, staring down her nose at him in her sterile white office, “Why can you never just make things easy for yourself?”

This pattern continued for what seemed like forever. Castiel tried his best to be obedient, and he always was for a short time, but it pained him to watch the humans he had grown so fond of needlessly suffering just so a point could be proven. The other angels could call him what they liked, but he was never one to idly stand by.

It was in the middle of this cycle when Dean croaked, “I need you,” tugging at the bottom of his trench coat. Castiel registered Dean’s bloody face and his aching knuckles. As Castiel dropped his blade, the status quo shattered into pieces. He picked up the angel tablet and disappeared, but his mind was in a whirl. Heaven was after him. He wouldn’t be dragged back this time.

Castiel has always known there was a crack in his chassis, even before Naomi spat the fact at him. But looking at Dean gazing up at him from where he’s slumped on Castiel’s chest, he feels like that crack might have mended itself to become something beautiful.


End file.
